by Frank Felton
Take caution, for the Lord very much disavows a lying tongue. Understand when you speak, your words should endeavor a righteous goal. Truth is a bizarre concept. Many a religious man believes that thou shalt not kill. Peel back that onion, and you realize that in truth, one should only not murder. The difference is found in asking why you take life; is it for vengeance, or is it for righteousness? Vengeance is the sole domain of the Lord.
Of all the men in that plane, I was the only one to survive. The others were all burned alive, or fell to the earth in a twisted heap of metal. I was the first out. I was the only to get out. The plane was engulfed in flames and fire from the Nazi artillery.
C’est la guerre.
The Skytrain was merely a vehicle for my delivery hence it was kept safe to that point. So too is the body of Mr. Mac; but just for a few moments more. Just as the Skytrain, his body has carried me as far as it can. My Earthly vessel is of ghost and man. I confess to you again, I never had any fear of death. My fear is only of failure to accomplish my mission. I would not die that day nor any day since; for I cannot die.
And I will never die.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. -
During the building of King Solomon’s Temple, the master craftsman Hiram, being from Tyre, did not speak the same language as the people of Israel. He relied instead on a system of codes and symbols to communicate with the brethren. As there were many thousands of workers living in the city of Jerusalem, it further became necessary to establish passwords and secret greetings to enable the wardens to pay only those whom were due them. It was a matter of necessity, but that simple act spawned a legacy of rites and rituals today known as Freemasonry.
It is why I have taken it upon myself to learn as many languages as possible, so that I don’t repeat that mistake.
I told you before I had many names. R. Cyrus McCormack is merely the most recent.
Begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made. - The Nicene Creed
I am not begotten, nor do I seek a standing with the Son. Unlike Him, I was made; by the Father.
I have fought many battles. I have ministered and delivered messages to men who wished not to hear it. Others accepted my dispatch with open arms. I have given pursuit to demons, bound them and cast them into the darkness to await their day of reckoning. I have destroyed, and I wrought the vengeance of the Lord with great fury.
I traveled with Hannibal through the Pyrenees. I fought with the Seleucids, and then against the same, whence they sought to destroy the people of God. I’ve walked the halls of the Roman Forum, trekked across Cappadocia and the Anatolian plain, sought refuge in the great castles of the Kommagene, and hibernated in the grotto of St. Peter. I’ve led men into battle under false pretenses and deceived mine enemy. I’ve slaughtered man and beast without hesitation.
I fought on both sides of the Crusades, defending that sacred land from not an opposing religious dogma, but from the hands of corrupt men who brought evil to its doorsteps. I’ve smitten the enemies of good and left them to await the fires of hell.
I was once known as Acerbas, High Priest of Melqart. My earthly flesh was murdered; ripped away from its earthen bond. I guided Elissa away from her murderous husband in Tyre and in my exile escaped the captivity of the Jewel. I came to the aid of the son of a righteous Israelite from the tribe of Napthali. I would again return to exile, to be exhumed by the warrior Hannibal.
I warned Adam the dangers of lurking evil in the Garden of Eden.
In the time of Solomon, I was Hiram, a servant of good.
After the War in Heaven, Satan and the Watchers fell to the earth, and polluted the perfect creation which God hath made.
The Father called me Raphael, and ordered me thus:
Proceed against the bastards…bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is forever and ever is consummated. - Enoch 10
This is not the first time I have put my thoughts onto parchment. Over 2,000 years ago, as I led the Maccabean Revolt, I wrote a detailed description of warfare and tactics. It was called the War Scroll.
This time, I write my story for your generation, but the story is the same. Will you ever learn?
After 400 hundred years of hibernation, I was awakened to find the pieces of the Jewel of Hiram. It was my sole mission in Germany in 1943. I have now accomplished that mission.
In doing so, I awakened the forces of darkness which will soon proceed in their lust for power. For even men like Drake Raines, just as Mr. Mac, are merely vessels for forces beyond this world.
Every hero has a villain. My counterpart, as we speak, is sharpening his sword to track down the Jewel of Hiram, to siphon its power and turn it for ill. Remember, neither goodness nor evil are so easy to spot, even for me. The rivalry with my nemesis, an agent of darkness, will soon spill into the physical. He will come as a thief in the night.
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
I await the time with patience.
There are two others who need my immediate assistance. Hank’s grandson, and another they call Crash Carter.
Earlier, I told you that Troy Benson, in 1986, gave me a nickname. You might have been asking yourself this entire time, just exactly what that nickname was; have you not?
This is the end of the line for Mr. Mac, but it’s only the beginning for Crash Carter.
The eyes close.
The light fades away.
Mr. Mac is no more.
About the Author
Mr. Felton is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He served much of his 7 years on active duty overseas, including tours with the National Security Agency and U.S. Air Forces - Europe. He earned a Master’s Degree from The Johns Hopkins University. In his youth, he was a USPA licensed master skydiver (D-22583), SCUBA diver, snowboarder, and pilot. These days, he moves more slowly. In addition to writing, he spends time operating a small business, masquerading as a chef (of questionable ability), driving a forklift, and studying world history, politics, and warfare. This fascination with history began long ago, but was reaffirmed during time spent living in southern Turkey, and Germany, witnessing the handiwork of civilizations far gone. He is a Master Mason, Christian, 7th generation Texan, and proud American veteran.
Acknowledgements
I’m afraid I owe far too much to repay, but I’ll start with these amends:
I would like to thank the late George Sessions Perry for his writings about rural Texas, both in novels and articles. His words are as true today as they were 7 decades ago.
As well, I owe a debt to Dr. Garna Christian of the University of Houston who lent his vast knowledge of Mr. Perry’s writing to this effort.
I would like to pay tribute to J. Frank Dobie, who wrote many volumes of Texas which were an inspiration to me.
Finally, to Jeanne Williams, my editor. Thank you alone cannot suffice, but I hope we can write many more books together. Your encouragement and refined eye have fashioned a raw story into something people might actually read. Here’s to hoping they laugh with us, and not at us!
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